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National Film Centre of Latvia
Latvian Animation Association
Latvian
Animation
Content
The new decade in Latvian animation 5
Gints Zilbalodis 6
Signe Baumane 10
IIze Burkovska-Jakobsen 14
Atom Art 16
Edmunds Jansons 20
Rija 22
Studio Locomotive 26
Animācijas Brigāde 30
Dace Rīdūze 32
Vladimirs Leščovs 34
Kārlis Vītols 36
Anete Melece 38
Lizete Upīte 39
Jurģis Krāsons 40
Indra Sproģe 42
Nils Skapāns 44
Student films 46
Film index 48
Photo: Agnese Zeltiņa
The new decade
in Latvian T
his is a time when Latvia’s famous past role in
animation connects with its likewise impressive
animation
and active development in the present moment.
Two-dimensional cut-out animation as well as spatial
puppet animation emerged in Latvia at almost the
same time – namely, in the 1960s – and, by continuing
to evolve and branching out, both of these traditions
By
have since been taken up by new generations of
now, the success of Gints Zilbalodis promising, serious filmmakers, who have brought
and his film Away has spread around deserved praise and acclaim to Latvia on the global
the world, ensuring Latvia’s reputation animation stage. The feature-length format has not
as an animation-producing country. Meanwhile, been traditionally used much in Latvian animation,
Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs producer Sabīne with the first “long film” made thirty years after the
Andersone was nominated for the Cartoon Movie introduction of animation and only a handful of
award for best European producer of the year, and her feature-length animated films being made in the
Kafka in Love project with director Zane Oborenko subsequent twenty years. In recent years, however –
won the main CEE Forum 2019 award. Continuing along with the centenary of the Latvian state, although
the momentum from Latvia’s centenary celebrations, this is only a symbolic coincidence – this genre of
Latvia currently has 16 animated film projects in the cinema is proving its maturity and vigour by having
works, almost half of which are feature-length films. finally reached a sort of critical mass, with several
Audiences will soon see Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen’s feature-length animated films in production in various
documentary animated film My Favorite War, Signe studios at the same time. Even more symbolically,
Baumane’s musical My Love Affair With Marriage, for two years in a row now, a Latvian feature-length
the Apple Pie Lullaby project by Rija Films, three animated film has been included in the Contrechamp
new instalments of the Shammies series and also competition at Annecy. Our films are being noticed
the premieres of short films by artists Edmunds elsewhere in the world as well. And this is only the
Jansons, Kārlis Vītols and Jurģis Krāsons. We can surely start of the journey, because Latvian animation is set
declare that, before long, festivals around the world to continue receiving financial support from the state,
will become acquainted with new stories by known and even a “virus crisis” can do it no harm. If animators
filmmakers and exciting debuts full of the wild and are forced to “stay at home”, they know exactly what to
untiring spirit of Latvian animation. do – make a film!
Anna Zača Kristīne Matīsa
director of the Latvian Animation Association animation expert at the National Film Centre
of Latvia
5
Away Aqua
Gints
years of work, whether he still believes this to be the Zilbalodis does not wish to say much about his Most-significant films:
case, he says yes. The lack of a team also allowed him future plans; he prefers to immerse himself in a single
to get by without a storyboard, meetings, obstacles project and wait for the next project to appear on its Projām / Away
3D computer animation, 75 min, 2019, young adults, no dialogue
Zilbalodis
and instructions from others, thus saving time and own. Seeing how his style has developed, one can
A boy wakes up in the desert next to a downed airplane. A mysterious
giving him more creative freedom. This is one of the expect that Zilbalodis’ future work will likely gravitate
monster emerges from the wreck and starts pursuing the boy. His only
reasons why Zilbalodis has focused on animation – it towards magical realism and the abstract rather than salvation is an oasis, but it’s too lonely to live there for very long. One day
is a technique that can be learned independently (as the depiction of reality. the boy finds an orphaned bird, teaches it to fly, and soon both of them
are ready to head out into the world to look for others like them.
he has done himself) and lends itself well to working
Contrechamp Award at the Annecy Festival / Total of 11 awards
G
with a small team where he does not need to fear losing
Screened at 60+ festivals / Annie Award nomination for best music
ints Zilbalodis is a young animator and director his original creative ideas. However, now that he has
who already has considerable experience accumulated some experience and established various Prioritātes / Priorities
in the field. After several shorts that gained contacts, Zilbalodis is considering doing his next 3D animation, 9 min, 2014, young adults, no dialogue
recognition at film festivals and on the internet, he project together with a small team in Latvia or abroad. A story about a young man, who is fighting for survival, and his dog,
who is only fighting for his master’s attention.
began an independent, feature-length project of his Having tried his hand at classic animation, Zilbalodis
own, the animated film Projām / Away. The first part of has now turned to 3D computer animation, because Aqua
the project, titled Oāze / Oasis, premiered in 2017 and it lets him use the camera as if in a feature film yet still Classic animation, 7 min, 2012, young adults, no dialogue
introduced audiences to the hero of the story, whose retain the endless possibilities provided by animation. A cat wakes up in the middle of the ocean and must extricate itself
adventures now continue in the full-length version. Thus he can create a setting that exists somewhere from this complicated, scary situation.
However, Zilbalodis emphasises that Oasis was only an between a real and stylised environment. In Away, there
excerpt of the whole story; it has now been completely is an emphasis on camera movement, creating the
reworked and no longer exists as a stand-alone entity. impression that the action has been filmed by a camera Gints Zilbalodis
Zilbalodis has chosen to work alone because he operator even though the animated characters do not lay gintszilbalodis@gmail.com
wishes to learn all of the aspects of film production; any claim to being realistic – the shadowless, featureless www.vimeo.com/gints
besides, working alone simply seemed easier and figures perform against a realistic background of, for
Priorities
6 cheaper at the time. When asked, after three and a half example, clouds or other natural landscapes. 7
After winning the Contrechamp Zilbalodis answers affirmatively,
Award at the Annecy Festival, Away adding that it will nevertheless
has been screened at more than be a relatively small team and
60 film festivals and won 11 more he will do most of the creative
awards. The film will be seen at work himself. One of the reasons
theatres in France and will soon he mentions for this is that the
also appear in Poland, Portugal, technique he uses is unusual and
Italy, Japan and several other not many people are acquainted
countries, including on Amazon with it. Right now, director and
Prime and other VOD platforms producer Matīss Kaža has joined
in the United States. In the him and is helping to write the
meantime, Zilbalodis is already scenario and produce the film.
working on his next film, Straume / Flow will be made in a
Flow , which he plans to finish in graphically stylised 3D animation
2023. The main protagonist of the technique, similarly to Away,
film is a cat who is afraid of water during the creation of which
but is forced to live in a world that Zilbalodis learned many new
is rapidly succumbing to floods. strategies for making an even more
Zilbalodis emphasises that this detailed and lifelike animated
will not be a continuation of Away, environment. Music will also play
despite addressing similar themes, a large role in this film and is being
such as the loneliness of living in written alongside the creation
modern society. of the film itself. Flow has been
In a way, however, the supported by the Culture Capital
protagonist in Flow again Foundation of Latvia, and the team
resembles its author – as already is interested in collaborating with
known, Zilbalodis created Away international partners.
at a leisurely tempo and mostly
by himself, but, once the film
was finished and began showing
at festivals, he very soon ended Flow will be made in a graphically stylised
up travelling around most of the
world and meeting countless
3D animation technique, similarly to Away,
people. Needless to say, it was during the creation of which Zilbalodis learned
a radical change of pace for the
filmmaker, who quickly had to Work in progress: many new strategies for making an even more
become accustomed to new
experiences, and he wished to Straume / Flow
detailed and lifelike animated environment
document and analyse these 3D animation, feature, young adults,
no dialogue
feelings in a new film. When asked
At a time when the world is rapidly
whether he plans to work with succumbing to floods, a cat must learn to
8 a larger team this time around, survive even though he is very afraid of water.
Signe Baumane
closeness one enjoys with a conversation partner who Three mythological figures (sirens, to be exact) will sing
is able to laugh about herself and life’s difficulties. about love, because, “How else do we learn what love is?
For her upcoming project, My Love Affair with Obviously, we hear about it in songs – we grow up with
Marriage / Mans laulību projekts, Baumane is using songs like this, and people want the kind of love that is
the same animation technique but has expanded it. worthy of being sung about in song,” says Baumane.
My Love Affair with Marriage The voices of the film’s thirty characters have been The project is quite extensive and involved.
recorded by actors from New York, including Matthew According to the film’s website, it will be 95 minutes
Modine, who has worked with Hollywood heavyweights long, feature 29 speaking roles and 200–300 non-
such as Stanley Kubrick and Christopher Nolan. My speaking roles, and involve the work of 43 actors from
Love Affair... is a coming-of-age story about a woman the United States and Latvia. In order to prepare,
and her search for romantic fulfilment. It is based on Baumane spent three weeks working with the actors.
Baumane’s own personal experience – openness has She is very pleased with the result and says that the
always been a hallmark of her work. In addition to actors were great. The project has also involved 50
following the course of several love affairs, the film also animation artists, students and interns from the United
touches upon the biological processes at work when we States as well as Latvia. Baumane comments that at
fall in love with someone and society’s glorification of first it was difficult to understand how to go about
romantic fulfilment. The main hero, Zelma, sincerely working with people on the other side of the world.
believes that the meaning of life lies in love and that Although the technique used in this film is similar to
there’s an “other half”, or soul mate, for everyone. But that in Rocks In My Pockets, Baumane believes that
she always ends up in a dead end. My Love Affair... is a artists must nevertheless continue to develop their
study about myths, reality and femininity. style and challenge themselves, which made it even
Baumane began work on My Love Affair... already more difficult for her to teach her style to others.
in September 2015 and plans to finish the film in early The biggest challenge, however, has been attracting
2021. She remembers that just writing the scenario financing for the project. My Love Affair... received
took a whole year, because it began with an in-depth support from 1562 people through a Kickstarter
study of the film’s theme. She wanted to learn not campaign and has also received support from national
only why people get married but also how the biology grants, but Baumane is still seeking private sponsors
works; that is, what happens in us when we fall in love, in order to finish the film. She would like to involve
what biological processes determine our gender, what a million people in this conversation about love,
S
lies at the foundation of gender-related behaviour? relationships and social stereotypes. She wishes to
igne Baumane is a Latvian living in the United Baumane started as an animation director in “It’s not just biological determinism,” says Baumane. entertain, provoke and shed light on the film’s viewers
States. Although she has not studied animation, Latvia, but she gained international recognition in the “It’s also social circumstances, how we play gender so that, as they leave the theatre, they might take a fresh
she is nevertheless one of the best-known world of animation with her series of short films titled roles, and how society forces these roles on us.” It is look at their relationships, observing the influence of
Latvian animators in the world thanks to her distinct Teat Beat of Sex (2008). In addition to several other precisely this aspect of research, as well as her own oxytocin and dopamine in their bodies.
personal style and courageous themes. Her films are short-format projects, this popular series was followed personal experience, that will set the film apart from
diverse in terms of colour and technique as well as by her first feature-length animated film, Rocks In others about similar themes. Baumane has been My Love Affair with
structure; expressive and clever visual metaphors My Pockets / Akmeņi manās kabatās (2014). In it, she married twice but is currently unmarried, despite being Marriage
have become an integral feature of her style. Baumane combined characters drawn in the classical animation in a relationship since 2000. She has always wanted
gives an exterior language to the various internal, yet technique with a filmed background made of papier to tell this story about love and marriage, about how
hidden, psychological processes that influence our mâché. It has a first-person narrative recorded by two people come together and how their previous
communication with others and how we perceive the Baumane herself; her voice in combination with experiences influence each subsequent relationship.
10 world around us. the film’s general ironic mood creates the kind of Music will play a major role in My Love Affair... 11
Recent film:
Akmeņi manās kabatās / Rocks in My Pockets
Stop motion, drawn animation, 88 min, 2014, Latvia / United States,
adults, dialogues
A story based on real people and events. The director tells about five
Birth
women in her family, including herself, and their battles with life’s
challenges, depression and mental illness. In this bleak yet funny film,
the twists and turns of Latvian history are interlaced with personal
experiences and stories about family secrets, love and marriage.
Coming soon:
Mans laulību projekts / My Love Affair with Marriage
Stop motion papier mâché, drawn animation, 95 min, 2021,
Latvia / United States, adults, dialogues
In her search for true love, a fiery young woman with a wild imagination
journeys through several marriages – some real, some imaginary –
while confronting pressures from society and her own biology, all of
which influences her moods and behaviour.
Rocks in My Pockets
Signe Baumane
www.signebaumane.com
My Love Affair with Marriage
My Love Affair with Marriage 13
Ilze Burkovska-
Jacobsen My Favorite War
I
lze Burkovska-Jacobsen is a Latvian who has lived My Favorite War Coming soon:
in Norway since the early 1990s. She has created
several personal documentary films, the most Mans mīļākais karš / My Favorite War
Classic animation with documentary footage, 80 min, 2020,
recent of which is My Favorite War /Mans mīļākais
Latvia/Norway, adults, dialogues
karš, which tells about her childhood and youth in the
An animated documentary film with an anti-war message for a global
Soviet Union during the Cold War. This newest film by audience. The plot line follows the director’s own development as a
Burkovska-Jacobsen makes use of both animated and person, from a playful childhood fascination to an independent and
critical attitude towards the destructive evil of war and armed conflict.
documentary materials. It continues the collaboration
The action takes place during the director’s childhood and youth in
between the Bivrost Film&TV studio in Norway Kurzeme, on the far western edge of the Soviet Union. The film makes
and the Ego Media studio in Latvia, also engaging use of a wide range of stories, memories and facts about the Second
World War in Kurzeme, with a main focus on the experiences of the
Latvian animation specialists from Tritone Studio.
civilian population. The film thus reflects two periods in Latvian history:
Approximately 80% of the film is animated, with the 1944-1945 in Kurzeme and the 1970s-1980s during the Soviet era. The
rest consisting of archival materials or contemporary film’s premiere is planned for autumn 2019.
documentary footage. Burkovska-Jacobsen has
chosen to rely on the language of animation,
because it most precisely portrays people, events or
environments that remain only in the memory. Most
of the film is created in a digital-application style, but
episodes and scenes depicting different eras, other
people’s stories or the protagonist’s own imagination
are created using 3D animation. The task of the
documentary materials also depends on the content Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen
of each specific episode. The contemporary footage ilze@bivrostfilm.no
provides a summary of preceding scenes, and the
archival materials illustrate features of the era that
the director wishes to emphasise in each particular
setting. In several instances, archival footage is
combined with animation in a single frame, as if the Guntis Trekteris
protagonist were watching a television programme Producer
or sitting in a movie theatre. Svein Nyhus (Norway) is guntis@egomedia.lv
www.egomedia.lv
the main artist for My Favorite War; the animation is
14 created by animators from Latvia. 15
Atom Art
become commercial would work Edmunds Jansons Ģirts Bišs
either, because we don’t have that is the founder of the is the sound
kind of taste here at the studio. But, Atom Art studio and director for most
by doing what you know best, you an award-winning of Atom Art’s films.
eventually realise that that’s even director. He also works as an For some films he has also
A
more profitable than trying to be animator, graphic artist, editor composed music and has been
tom Art is an award-winning 2D animation works in the computer cut-out animation technique, commercial. Over time, the small and creative producer, and in his quite successful at that, having
studio established in 2001 and based in Riga, but films are also made by traditional drawing, drawing auteur films put out by our studio free time he enjoys illustrating received many national and
Latvia. Over the years, it has grown from a four- on glass, sand animation, animation with charcoal and bring in a lot more, in terms of children’s books. international awards for his work.
to five-person animation studio to a company with even puppet animation. satisfaction and sometimes even
more than 30 people on its staff. However, the main Atom Art is currently producing three new films financially, because they continue
team has stayed the same. Atom Art is known for its from the Shammies miniseries, Edmunds Jansons’ new to be shown.” Sabīne Andersone Reinis Pētersons
auteur short films and animated films for children. auteur film Guard of Honor and also Kafka in Love, a The studio’s second direction of is the CEO of the is an illustrator and
The studio works in a variety of animation genres: short film made with the sand animation technique by activity revolves around producing company and the artist who works in
magical realism, animated documentary, musical, Zane Oborenko. A new feature film, Born in the Jungle, children’s animated films. Atom main producer for diverse styles. He has
absurd, children’s film and others. The studio mainly is in development. Art has developed children’s all the important projects at created the design for the studio’s
projects in a variety of formats, Atom Art. Although she is the children’s films as well as his
from the Shammies preschool main financial manager, she is own short animation film, Ursus,
miniseries and the Pigtail and Mr. one of the most creative people made in a delicate charcoal-
Sleeplessness television special at Atom Art. drawing technique.
to the feature-length film Jacob,
Mimmi and the Talking Dogs. Born
in the Jungle, the new feature film Mārtiņš Dūmiņš Elīna Brasliņa
currently in development, is a story is the lead animator is a talented artist
about a Latvian adventurer’s family and animation and book illustrator
living in the Venezuelan jungle in supervisor at who has collaborated
the mid-20th century. Atom Art. Over the years, he with Atom Art on a feature film.
“We see children’s cinema as and Edmunds Jansons have This collaboration continues with
Kafka in Love Choir Tour Ursus a dialogue that you have to form developed a unique cut-out the development of their next
with a great sense of responsibility animation style that serves as feature film together.
The Atom Art studio is led by producer Sabīne itself by fully devoting itself to auteur animated films, a and truly believing in what you the brand of Atom Art in Latvia
Andersone and director Edmunds Jansons. The studio’s point it has reached after many years of trying to balance do, because it influences the taste and abroad.
third core member is the lead animator Mārtiņš between short films and various commercial projects. of the young generation. As we Zane Oborenko
Dūmiņš. Creative decisions are made as a team. Edmunds Jansons: “I sometimes compare our work, we keep in mind that we is an artist and
Although the presence of the producer and creative studio to the situation with Icelandic music. There was a are parents ourselves and want Ieva Vaickovska animator who
director are a ubiquitous part of any film made at Atom distinct ‘boom’ about ten years ago or so when Icelandic to create something our children is the production creates short
Art, invited directors are nevertheless given much groups became super popular, and people asked them will enjoy. At the present moment, manager of film films in the challenging sand
creative freedom. how they did it. So art-housey, doing such totally crazy, we’re seeing that there’s no limit for projects at Atom Art animation technique, mastering
The studio began working with auteur animated nutty things... And they replied: we just came to the films made with such an approach; and also the manager of all kinds it beautifully. No story is too
short films, first of all Jansons’ own films but later also realisation that there was absolutely no point in being they’re appreciated all over the of other projects at the studio. difficult for her, not even one
involving artist Reinis Pētersons, Ivo Briedis, Lizete Upīte commercial, because we simply aren’t capable of doing world.” (Sabīne Andersone and She is the right hand of the inspired by the seemingly dull
16 and Zane Oborenko. Atom Art is now able to support commerce! I don’t think any attempts by Atom Art to Edmunds Jansons) producers and directors. existentialist Franz Kafka. 17
Most-significant films: Coming Soon:
Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs / Jēkabs, Mimmi un Guard of Honor / Goda sardze
runājošie suņi Edmunds Jansons, cut-outs, Latvia / Poland, 70 min, Edmunds Jansons, 2D computer animation, 5 min, 2020, Latvia,
2019, universal, dialogues universal, no dialogue
An adventure story about two children spending summer in an old The guards stand in front of the historical symbol of the state. No
suburb, where, together with a bunch of talking dogs, they rescue the matter the season or weather, they fulfil their duty, the obligation of
romantic neighbourhood of wooden houses from destruction. honour. Is there a boundary beyond which this honourable credibility
begins to look exaggerated?
The Shammies / Lupatiņi
Edmunds Jansons, digital cut-outs, Latvia, preschool-aged children, Kafka in Love / Iemīlējies Kafka
dialogue in English / Latvian Zane Oborenko, sand animation, 10 min, 2022, Latvia, adults, dialogue in
Latvian / English
The Shammies are an animated cross-media project for preschool-
aged children about discovering the world through children’s games, Franz and Milena – between them a distance, her husband and loads
Pigtail and Mr. Sleeplessness Guard of Honor fantasy and wordplay. In the upcoming instalments “How The Shammies of letters. It’s a love that fills Kafka’s life with light and hope and at the
Travelled”, “How The Shammies Had Breakfast” and “How The same time illuminates the fears and darkness in him. This animated
Shammies Counted Time”, the little Shammies travel without leaving the short is based on Kafka’s Letters to Milena and explores less known but
house and learn how to count chairs and time. nonetheless extraordinary and puzzling aspects of Kafka’s personality.
Pigtail and Mr. Sleeplessness / Bize un Neguļa
Edmunds Jansons, digital cut-outs, 2D computer animation, 25 min,
2017, Latvia, children, dialogue in Latvian / English
Work in progress:
To win back her parents’ attention, a six-year-old girl nicknamed
Born in the Jungle / Laimes bērni
Pigtail and her imaginary friend, Mr. Sleeplessness, come up with a
Edmunds Jansons, cut-outs, 2D computer animation, 70 min, 2023,
clever plan to send her Baby Brother and Grandma to the moon.
universal, dialogues
Choir Tour / Kora turneja Chalky is a fragile-looking Latvian girl who lives at the foot of Devil’s
Edmunds Jansons, 2D computer animation, 5 min, 2012, Latvia, Mountain in the Venezuelan jungle. One day her stepfather disappears,
universal, no dialogue and Chalky, overcoming her fear, embarks on a rescue mission, getting
involved in unimaginable adventures that force her to grow up quickly.
It’s a wild free-for-all when a famous boys’ choir breaks away from
their conductor while on tour in Seoul and causes mayhem in the hotel.
Ursus
Reinis Pētersons, charcoal drawing, 10 min, 2011, Latvia, universal,
no dialogue
A charcoal-on-paper animation about a circus bear on a motorcycle
who decides to leave the daily routine and takes off into the forest, where
his true happiness seems to dwell.
Riga Lilac / Rīgas ceriņi
Lizete Upīte, 2D computer animation, 14 min, 2019, France / Latvia,
adults, no dialogue
On Riga’s public transport system, you can call the police if someone
smells bad and disturbs your ride. But would you call? Lizete, an amateur
interviewer, tries to figure out whether we have the right to stink.
Sabīne Andersone
sabine@atomart.lv
www.atomart.lv
Shammies Born in the JungleWe think and work competitiveness on the national Sabīne Andersone
Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs
internationally as well as international stage. The
studio directors, for their part,
Atom Art produces films not only on keep current by actively watching
a local level but also on a European the newest animated films at film
and global level. Participation in festivals around the world. “We
international industry forums follow current events and trends
plays a very important role in in film because it’s inspiring – if
the studio’s development. Atom you see that you don’t need to
Art tries to appear at Cartoon pander to anything, then you
Forum, Cartoon Movie and CEE become more courageous in your
Forum every year – such activities creative expression,” says Sabīne
influence and cultivate the studio’s Andersone.
Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs is a film for the whole family based on the
book by award-winning author Luīze Pastore. It’s a summer adventure story
that takes place in the Riga suburb of Maskačka. Jacob, a
boy from central Riga, arrives to spend the summer with his
relatives on the outskirts of the city.
Edmunds Jansons about artistic endeavours and do only things I’m interested
working on the film: in myself. For example, short films, on the other hand,
This is my first feature- are interesting for viewers precisely because the best
length film, but the team of them are complete auteur cinema, even exotic in
consists of almost the same a way – another person is expressing him- or herself,
people I’ve been working and I’m able to observe what that looks like. Whereas
with for years on short films. the full-length format demands that I know how it
I think the main difference works, how viewers will respond to it. My goal is not to
Edmunds Jansons with feature-length films is entertain, or only to entertain; it’s important for me to
related to distribution – the understand my audience. If this type of film does not
formats and requirements are completely different. lead to emotional teamwork with the audience – no
The way in which a film reaches the viewer through a matter whether it’s a sigh, laughter or tears – then, I
movie theatre’s repertoire is much simpler than it is believe, it doesn’t work. A film must resonate.
for short films.
Jacob and Mimmi... is a family film, a children’s
film, and that means it’s not really auteuristic
20 experimentation in which I wander off on my ownRija Films
T
he Rija film studio was and Canada feature-length co-
established in 1995; production, the Oscar-nominated
its main activities are film Belleville Rendez-vous / Les
film production, the dubbing Triplettes de Belleville (2003).
of animated films, and film Rija has had many highlights in
distribution. To date, its films its 23 years of work: the shorts To
have been made by 19 different Swallow a Toad / Norīt krupi (dir.
directors, including Inga Riba Jurģis Krāsons, 2010), When Apples
(Prauliņa), Vladimirs Leščovs, Roll / Kad āboli ripo (dir. Reinis
Signe Baumane, Jurģis Krāsons, Kalnaellis, ) and Singing Hugo
Reinis Kalnaellis, Aija Bley, Askolds and his Incredible Adventures /
Saulītis and Agnese Aizpuriete. Dziedošais Hugo un viņa neticamie
Rija’s first animated film, Little piedzīvojumi (dir. Reinis Kalnaellis,
Devils / Velniņi, was released 2010) premiered at the prestigious
in 1999. Before that, however, Cannes and Berlin film festivals
the studio had already amassed and also won awards at several
considerable experience by doing other international festivals.
animation for French director Rija’s short film Funny Alphabet /
Michel Ocelot’s film Kirikou Joka pēc alfabēts (dir. Reinis
and the Sorceress / Kirikou et la Kalnaellis, 2010), script and art
Sorcière, which went on to win ten by Indra Sproģe, music by well-
international prizes. The global known Latvian musician Renārs
attention Rija received also led to Kaupers) has become very popular,
a significant role for the studio in with almost 13 million views on
a French, Great Britain, Belgium YouTube.
Lote from Gadgetville
22 Apple Pie LullabyFor many years now, Rija has Most-significant films: Animation services:
been actively participating in co-
productions. According to director Sieviete / The Woman Les Triplettes de Belleville / Belleville Rendez-vous
Signe Baumane, classic animation, 10 min, 2002, adults, no dialogue Sylvain Chomet, classic animation, 77 min, 2003, France / Belgium /
Vilnis Kalnaellis, the studio first
A visually poetic story about a woman’s creation, her setting out into Great Britain / Canada, U, no dialogue
develops a project and then attracts
the world and her ability to bring man either Love or Death. Nominated for two Academy Awards (Oscars) in 2004, for best
co-producers, selecting them based animated feature and best original song.
on their experience and previous Joka pēc alfabēts / Funny Alphabet
work. One significant project was Reinis Kalnaellis, classic animation, 3 min, 2015, children, lyrics Kirikou et la Sorcière / Kirikou and the Sorceress
A short and witty story featuring the adventures of various animals in Michel Ocelot, classic animation, 71 min, 1998, France / Luxembourg,
the feature-length film Lotte from
alphabetical order. With a fun song and entertaining characters, it helps children, dialogues
Gadgetville (2006), which was made children learn the Latvian alphabet.
in collaboration with the Estonian
company Eesti Joonisfilm. A second
feature-length film with the Lotte Recent films:
character was released in 2011, and
a third, Lotte and the Lost Dragons, Trakā lapsa / Crazy Fox
Agnese Aizpuriete, classic animation, 7 min, 2019, children, no dialogue
will come out in 2019, premiering
Crazy Fox has wandered into a seaside village, where she experiences
in the Generation competition at
all sorts of unusual and alarming things: she saves a snail, eats too
the Berlinale. many pears, jumps around on a trampoline and becomes friends with a
Rija specialises in classic mermaid by helping her to escape from an aquarium.
animation technique, in which a
Lotte and the Lost Dragons The Woman Lote un pazudušie pūķi / Lotte and the Lost Dragons
team of professionals bring to life
Janno Poldma & Heiki Ernits, classic animation, 72 min, 2019,
the ideas of a director and/or artist. Estonia / Latvia, children, dialogues
The forthcoming film Apple Pie Karl the Raccoon and Victor Vetch are two scientists who have arrived
Lullaby / Ābolrauša šūpuļdziesma in Gadgetville and have decided to take part in a local competition for
who can collect the most folk songs. They dream of recording the song
is being created using the Maya of the mythical fire-breathing dragon. Lotte and her little sister hear of
3D programme, with a 2D version their plan and decide to help the scientists.
developed later for the film’s
composition and colourisation. Coming soon:
Last year, Rija worked on two
feature-length animated films, one Ābolrauša šūpuļdziesma / Apple Pie Lullaby
short and one documentary. The Singing Hugo and his Incredible Adventures Reinis Kalnaellis, classic animation, 65 min, 2020, children, dialogues
studio has 25 employees working A film about the little penguin girl Telma, who worries that her fifth
with animated films. Birthday will not find its way to her house and she will forever remain
four years old. She is joined in her adventures in the Land of Ice and the
Great Forest by the cat Wilhelm, the mouse Sophia, the king of seagulls
Stefan, the zebra couple Teo and Mare with their smartphones, and other
inhabitants of the magical land.
Vilnis Kalnaellis
info@rijafilms.lv
www.rijafilms.lv
The Golden Horse Crazy Fox
24 25Studio
Locomotive
T
he Studio Locomotive The studio’s first animation project
produces fiction, creative was independent director Nils
documentaries and Skapāns’ plasticine animated short
animation. Founded in 1995, in film Cat in the Bag / Kaķis maisā
recent years it has become one of (2013). This was followed by a
the fastest growing, most creative collaboration with internationally
and most productive film studios in recognised, New York-based
the Baltic countries. Nearly all of the director Signe Baumane for
films produced by Studio Locomotive her full-length film Rocks in My
have been premiered at well-known Pockets / Akmeņi manās kabatās
international film festivals. (2014). As the minority partner
The director of Studio in the co-production, Studio
Locomotive is producer Roberts Locomotive was responsible for
Vinovskis, who has been active in the film’s distribution in Latvia,
the film industry since the early where attracting audiences is a
1990s. The studio has mainly challenge. Vinovskis comments:
worked with live action films, but “The film’s theme is quite specific.
recently animation has begun It was clear from the outset that
playing a larger role as well. “The this wasn’t going to be a box-office
way that I, as a producer, arrived hit. But as a producer, it’s precisely
at animation was actually a matter these kinds of projects that interest
of chance,” says Vinovskis. “But it me; that’s where the adrenaline is.
didn’t come as a surprise to me, And, considering all of that, the
because in cinema, I believe it’s film has done very well in Latvia.
important to make good films and In the global context, too, the film
stories; the technique through has had visibility – more than
which one achieves that should be 200 festivals. The world premiere
the one that’s most appropriate for of this film was the first time in
each particular story.” the history of the Karlovy Vary
To date, Studio Locomotive festival that an animated film was
has participated in the creation included in the official selection.”
of seven animated films: three As Latvia’s centenary
Before the Day Breaks
26 feature-length and four short films. approached, Studio Locomotive 27worked on Before the Day Breaks / Saule brauca debesīs, Most-significant films:
whose director, Roze Stiebra, received the Latvian
National Film Award for lifetime achievement while Akmeņi manās kabatās / Rocks in My Pockets
Signe Baumane, stopmotion, drawn and papier mâché animation,
work on the film was still underway. Although it was the
88 min, 2014, Latvia / United States, adults, dialogue in English and
66th film in her career, this was the first film Stiebra had Latvian
made in almost a decade. It was also the first time the
studio had brought together such a large team – thirty Work in progress: Saule brauca debesīs / Before the Day Breaks
Roze Stiebra, drawn animation, 75 min, 2018, Latvia, universal
people – needed to create a full-length animated film.
audiences, dialogue
“I don’t know which higher powers stood by us,” says Rule of the Heart / Sirds likums
Roze Stiebra, classical animation, feature, Latvia, universal The Sun and Moon have a baby, and mummers arrive to welcome the
Vinovskis, “but we were able to put together a team that Daughter of the Sun. Amid the joyous crowds, no one notices that the
audiences, dialogue
was entirely from Latvia, in spite of the fact that there Daughter has disappeared, and everyone is suddenly stunned to see an
Princess Alda believes the world is a lonely, cold and strictly empty cradle. However strong the Sun and Moon are, they cannot find
aren’t all that many animators in Latvia.” regimented place. But her views change completely when she their Daughter nor bring her back home. It turns out they need a human
Having successfully finished the animation process receives a forbidden gift from the Stranger, whom she meets by being! And so Nabašnieks, along with a little girl and her young brother
chance. who were among the mummers just a short while ago, volunteer to help
for Before the Day Breaks, the studio began working
and go out into the big, wide world to find the Daughter of the Sun and
on its next challenge, namely, the first Latvian feature-
bring her home.
length animated film for adults. Baumane’s newest film,
My Love Affair with Marriage / Mans laulību projekts,
will premiere in late 2021 and is being created as a Coming soon:
majority co-production with the United States. Vinovskis
is hopeful about the result: “There’s a lot of interest from Mans laulību projekts / My Love Affair with Marriage
Signe Baumane, stopmotion papier mâché, drawn animation, 95 min,
festivals as well as sales agents. There’s no doubt that this
2021, Latvia / United States, adults, dialogue in English and Latvian
film of Signe’s will be no less successful with audiences
than her previous one. In fact, this film might in a way
even be easier for viewers. The manner of narration My Love Affair with Marriage
and the director’s style remain very similar, but this
one has a lot of music and acting; it’s almost something
of a musical. And the theme is more universal – it’s no
longer about depression but instead about marriage
and gender stereotypes, about the roles of the man and
woman in the family and in society. It’s a theme that
addresses almost every adult who lives in a community
rather than all alone in the forest. And so I believe that
the potential audience is very, very broad.”
When the studio finishes this current project, Studio
Locomotive plans to provide animation services or
perhaps take on another large project with the aim of
maintaining the professional team it has painstakingly
put together. At the moment, Studio Locomotive is Roberts Vinovskis
working on a new feature by Roze Stiebra, Rule of office@locomotive.lv
the Heart. In this project, Stiebra has paired up with www.locomotive.lv
Aleksejs Naumovs, one of the most important painters
28 of recent decades in Latvia. 29Animācijas
Most-significant films:
Ki-ke-ri-gū! / Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Arnolds Burovs, puppet animation, 10 min, 1966, children, no dialogue
Brigāde
This, the first Latvian puppet animation film, is based on motifs from
folk tales and tells about a poor farmer with a magical mill. When the rich
master steals the mill, the farmer’s dog and rooster prepare for battle.
Work in progress:
Bimini
Arnolds Burovs, puppet animation, 19 min, 1981, universal, no dialogue
Lielais Indriķis / Henry the Great Cock-a-doodle-doo!
For the love of puppets Jānis Cimmermanis, puppet animation, feature, 2022, universal
audiences, dialogue
Based on Heinrich Heine’s poem, this film traces humanity’s longing
for beauty and fulfilment, as expressed through a song about the
D
legendary island of Bimini and its magical well whose waters revive a
irector Jānis Cimmermanis and human orchestra After a long period abroad, the mighty pie Henry the Great returns to his person’s strength and youth.
fatherland and discovers that all of his land is occupied by the Eastern pies
(as well as scriptwriter, producer, artist, even ruled by Czar Ivan the Terrible. Henry the Great is determined to free his
Piemineklis / Monument
composer) Māris Putniņš have been making land from invaders.
Jānis Cimmermanis, puppet animation, 5 min, 1991, universal,
puppet films together for more than 30 years. They no dialogue
have become so attuned to each other that they gone; the appearance of the puppets and the roles of Every Soviet city of importance had one – a monument to the
almost have no need for words when working. “Often the filmmakers themselves have changed; political Communist leader Lenin. Here, the filmmakers use a monument that
does not hold together as a metaphor for the collapsing Soviet Union.
we’ll begin making a film,” says Putniņš, his elbow systems, sources of funding and the film industry have
resting comfortably on his knee, “and a great solution also changed. Over the years, hundreds of puppets Lidojam?! / Let’s Fly?! (from the Munk and Lemmy series)
simply appears. Who thought it up?” He looks over at and decorations have been filmed: rabbits, dogs, big Bimini Nils Skapāns, puppet animation, 6 min, 1994, children, no dialogues
Cimmermanis, who is resting against the table, his arms noses from the Rescue Team (Avārijas Brigāde) series, The strange creatures Munk and Lemmy encounter very human
crossed. “Who the hell knows,” he replies puckishly and all painstakingly hand-made. At the present moment, problems and attempts at solving them. Here, they try to help their
friend the rabbit, who is unable to reach the fruit he desires.
lifts an eyebrow above the frame of his glasses. the studio employs 16 professionals in the field of
Since the mid-1960s, when the Riga Film Studio puppets on a number of different projects taking place Meža Sargi / Forest Guards
established a puppet department, the group working simultaneously. Māris Brinkmanis, puppet animation, 12 min, 2014, children, no dialogue
there has been very close. Generations have come and The Rescue Team films have participated in a variety On his walk, the Forester finds a pile of garbage discarded in
of international film festivals and have won prestigious the woods. His pets – a dog, a cat and a mouse – are angry. On his
next walk, the Forester sees that a citizen is polluting the forest.
Hedgehogs and the City prizes, including the Crystal Bear children’s jury award However, nothing can be done because the Forester is an old man
at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1995 for the and his shotgun is charged with only a cork. The Forester’s pets,
film Let’s Fly (Lidojam, from the Munk and Lemmy together with forest animals, decide to teach the citizen a lesson.
Forest Guards
series directed by Nils Skapāns). Another successful
Eži un lielpilsēta / Hedgehogs and the City
animation short is Hedgehogs and the City (Eži un Ēvalds Lācis, puppet animation, 10 min, 2013, children, no dialogue
lielpilsēta, 2013) by Ēvalds Lācis, which has received Let’s Fly One spring morning, the animals wake up from their winter slumber
ten awards at international film festivals. to find that a city has replaced their forest. They realise they will need
The studio’s film scripts are mostly original; some to find new strategies for surviving, and it turns out that the hedgehogs
take to capitalism quite naturally.
are based on Latvian or foreign literature and comic
strips. The studio is mostly recognised for its five- to
ten-minute-long children’s shorts without dialogue. Māris Putniņš
“Does the script come first?” I ask Putniņš ab.studija@apollo.lv
and Cimmermanis. “First is a crazy idea,” laughs www.animacijasbrigade.jimdo.com
Cimmermanis. Audacious, absurd, a bit wild, crazy –
that’s what puppet people are like. 31Dace
Work in progress: Most-significant films:
Dusmukule / Angry Bag Up and Down / Kaimiņu būšana
Puppet animation, 20 min, 2021, primary-school-aged children Puppet animation, 7 min, 2000, children, no dialogue
Rīdūze
Two boys find an unusual plastic bag with no handle. It turns out to Strange things are happening at the Tiger’s garden. Someone has
be alive, moving around and angry because it has become useless to stolen his carrots and some of the carrots are growing ”up and down’’
everyone. Together, the Angry Bag and the two boys try to find new
meaning in life and a new use for plastic bags that, once used by people Firefly / Jāņtārpiņš
and discarded, have become real hooligans. Puppet animation, 12 min, 2002, children, no dialogue
Otis the Firefly is trying to find a girlfriend, but due to his inability to
D
glow, he is finding this difficult.
ace Rīdūze has studied theatre arts, theatre Angry Bag
directing and pedagogy. She began working Acorn Boy / Zīļuks
with animation in 1998 when she joined the Puppet animation, 10 min, 2010, children, no dialogue
Animācijas Brigāde film studio, where she learned The adventures of a little acorn boy in the village of stalks where he
about puppet cinema from the very foundations up. Her meets Mrs Bee, Mr Spider, the ants and many other insects.
film Up and Down / Kaimiņu būšana (2000) received
Firefly Little Ruddy / Sārtulis
the “Lielais Kristaps” Latvian national film award for Puppet animation, 9 min, 2014, children, no dialogue
best debut, and the experience inspired her to continue The coloured pencils are a merry lot. One day, red Ruddy comes out
creating films. Rīdūze’s films Firefly / Jāņtārpiņš (2002), of the pencil case too late and unsharpened. An annoying fly causes
Acorn Boy / Zīļuks (2010) and Little Ruddy / Sārtulis him to fall out of the window into the garden. Finding himself in a new
world, Ruddy tries to make himself useful, but it seems he’s not wanted
(2014) have taken part in the competition at the Berlin anywhere.
Film Festival. Her 13th and most recent film, Dusty /
Puteklis, was released in 2019. Rīdūze is already working
on her next short, Angry Bag / Dusmu kule. Recent films:
Much of Rīdūze’s work has been inspired by classic
Latvian literature, which has not lost its currency in terms of either content or visual values. The characters Dusty / Puteklis
created by famous illustrator Margarita Stāraste are Puppet animation, 13 min, 2019, children, no dialogue
Dusty particular favourites of hers: “In Stāraste’s work I find The story about a piece of dust living in a book shelf and its unusual
friendship with a boy.
my Latvian ‘code’, the one I grew up with. Now my
children see it as well, and I hope that, in the film Zirņa bērni / Pea children
format, it will reach yet another generation.” Pea children Puppet animation, 12 min, 2019, preschool-age children, no dialogue
After 20 years in puppet animation, Rīdūze still This film is the cinematic continuation of a classic poem by the Latvian
finds ways to develop her technique and experiment. poet Rainis. It follows the subsequent adventures of its main heroes –
eight peas – and their interactions with the world around them as well as
For example, a real boy appears alongside the puppets with the cycles and laws of nature. These musical and countable stories
in her newest film, Dusty. “In puppet animation, I can tell about the peas’ adventures after spilling out of their original home,
be the director, scenographer, set decorator, actor and the pod.
tricks master all at the same time,” says Rīdūze. “I get
excited by the feeling you get when crossing the fragile
boundary between the real world and the invisible Dace Rīdūze
universe of fantasy.” www.animacijasbrigade.jimdo.com
ab.studija@apollo.lv
32 33Wings and Oars
Most-significant films: Work in progress:
Electrician’s Day / Elektriķa diena Winter Landscape with Skaters / Ziemas ainava ar slidotājiem
Classical animation, 8 min, 2018, adults, no dialogue Vladimirs Leščovs on his upcoming film: “It’s an animated short film
An accident happens during repairs at a psychiatric hospital. As a with the working title Winter Landscape with Skaters / Ziemas ainava
result, an electrician loses consciousness and finds himself on the other ar slidotājiem. It tells about early interests, hobbies and childhood
side of the wall. dreams that were left by the wayside only to reappear later in life to help
one overcome hardships and difficulties as an adult. It’s a story about
Villa Antropoff how, in spite of history, socio-political systems, religions and other
Vladimirs Leščovs and Kaspars Jancis, classical animation, 13 min, circumstances, people have a lot more in common with each other than
2012, adults, no dialogue they think.”
An ironic story about dreams and losing dreams. Inspired by a real
event, when both directors found themselves at a strange wedding
celebration in the villa of former USSR leader Yuri Andropov near Pärnu
in Estonia.
Rainy Days
Wings and Oars / Spārni un airi
Vladimirs
Classical animation, 6 min, 2009, adults, no dialogue
Leščovs animated films are figural; for the most A former pilot looks back over his life: the Earth, the Sky, the Woman –
part, they centre around a clear, albeit paradox-rich, everything that took place on the journey from an air strip to an
abandoned boat house. Memories and flashes of various time periods
fable told in laconic, pictorial form. His themes revolve create a surreal mood in which the present, past and future all exist at
Leščovs
around border situations where opposites meet: sleep the same time.
and wakefulness, clarity and intoxication, life and
death, meeting and parting. Electrician’s Day focuses Lost in Snow / Zuduši sniegā
Classical animation, 8 min, 2007, adults, no dialogue
on the fragile border between what we call the mind
A man goes ice-fishing on a winter day. But he is not alone. And his day
and what we call madness. The action takes place in on the ice involves more than catching fish.
V
a psychiatric hospital. Medical institutions are often
ladimirs Leščovs makes films in Latvia, where his used in cinema to portray a social model in which to Insomnia / Bezmiegs
Lunohod studio is registered. However, the scale observe the relationship between power and normality Classical animation, 7 min, 2004, adults, no dialogue
he works on is international – for example, he has and the influence habits and assigned roles have on She arrives in the night, silent as a cat. She will not let him fall asleep
until he feeds her. She wants milk, which he will find between a dream
dedicated a short film to the Japanese (The Letter from our sense of self. In this film, too, hospital wards and and reality. Her name is Insomnia. The glimmering characters drawn
Hibakusha, produced by the NHK Hiroshima Station hallways become a setting for a battle for identity. The in coloured pencil highlight the turbulent state between sleep and
and his only film with dialogue) and has collaborated main character, an electrician, receives a serious jolt of wakefulness.
with and co-produced films with Canadians and electricity while working on the hospital’s wiring. He
Estonians. Electrician’s Day / Elektriķa diena (2018) is wakes up inside the hospital, where it seems he has lain Electrician’s Day
Leščovs’ tenth animated film, not counting shorter for quite some time. Day follows day, and it becomes
films and intermedia projects, such as projections in ever harder for him to imagine life outside the hospital.
collaboration with the Orbita collective of poets. When asked “Do you, as an animation director,
Villa Antropoff
Electrician’s Day is a monochrome film that calls have an obligation to speak about problems in
to mind Leščovs’ other recent films; although made society?” Leščovs explains his position: I don’t like the
in various different techniques, they share the same word “obligation” in this context. There’s status as a Vladimirs Leščovs
tonality – as do the sketches of his travels that he likes citizen, respect, self-awareness, responsibility, honour. vl@lunohod.lv
to make using coffee and black tea instead of ink. I don’t think it’s right to link obligation with forms of www.lunohod.lv
The film is drawn with brown India ink on paper and artistic expression. Let’s leave that word for our political
34 contains only a few colourful elements. representatives, the servants of the people. 35Kārlis
watercolour. “I have a tough time with materials and Most-significant films:
techniques, because almost all of the techniques
interest me. I see something at a festival, and ahhh, Mīnotaurs / Minotaur
Oil on glass, 8 min, 2016, adults, no dialogue
Vītols
I want to try that, too! But time and resources are a
While Father is at work, little Minotaur looks for playmates. In the
different matter, and the lack of both usually leads me
endless labyrinth, he finds mythological figures who are occupied with
back to computer cut-out animation,” he admits. their own ambitions.
And yet, Vītols nevertheless manages to include a
The End
variety of materials in his films: photographs, drawings, Aptumsums / Eclipse
Digital animation / original technique, 10 min, 2010, adults, no dialogue
paintings by himself and other artists, newspaper
As the shadow of the moon covers the earth during a solar eclipse, the
Minotaurus clippings, posters, quotes from art history. His first twilight creatures come to life, the boundary between the real and the
animated film, The Trophy / Trofeja (2004), was shown imagined vanishes, and a transcendental ritual takes place in nature.
at the Arsenāls Film Forum and won the award for
best animated film in the Baltic section; it was also Velna Fudži / Devil’s Fuji
2D animation, 32 min, 2009, adults, dialogue
nominated for best artwork at the Latvian National
Mount Fuji is occupied by a Latvian devil, who creates Latvian culture
Film Festival. and forces it on the native Japanese people. An ambitious samurai is
In 2006, Vītols released the animated film Garden of sent to fight him.
Fetish, which became the first part of a self-reflective
meditation, the animated film trilogy Garden of Fetish / Fetišu dārzs / Garden of Fetish
Digital animation / original technique, 10 min, 2006, adults, no dialogue
Fetišu dārzs (2006), Eclipse / Aptumsums (2010) and The
Northern Star The film analyses the abstract components that make up a work of art
End / Beigas (2018), made specifically to be shown at as well as the fetishes cultivated by the artist while creating it.
an art gallery. The final film of this Gallery Trilogy, The
The Swan Maiden
End, was visually inspired by David Hockney’s painting His latest film, The Swan Maiden / Gulbju jaunava, Recent films:
A Bigger Splash and captures that superficial vibration is based on the story of Kārlis Skalbe. Until now,
K
of the vision of an affluent life. the work of this classic Latvian author has been Gulbju jaunava / The Swan Maiden
ārlis Vītols works in two main directions regarding Vītols made all three films in the triptych in a cinematised only by the animation masters Arnolds Digital animation / original technique, 14.30 min, 2020, adults, no dialogue
Latvian culture: in the film industry he is known relatively short time and without a script or storyboard Burovs and Roze Stiebra. When asked whether viewers When in love, one has no idea the price that must be paid to keep this
as an animation filmmaker with ten works to his in the traditional sense. He believes such tools are should expect something radical this time, Vītols love alive. This is a film about a woman forced to choose between her
own freedom or being a loving mother and wife. The script is based on
name, while in the art world he is known as a painter necessary if several people are working on a film says: “I hope it won’t be anything radical, because motifs from the fairy tale by Latvian writer Kārlis Skalbe.
of large-format works that are often exhibited in Latvia together; however, with his auteur form of animation, I had already been reaching out towards Skalbe for
and abroad. In fact, his animation work also often “there is no need for communicative intermediaries many years until it all finally came together. I like the Beigas / The End
balances on the border between the art gallery and between the brain and the hands that execute the challenge of cinematising a work in which all of its Digital animation / original technique, 11 min, 2019, adults, no dialogue
cinema, and has been shown at a variety of festivals work.” In place of a script, he has “characters that have beautiful essence – the reason why I’m doing it – is The heavenly Count Pīlādzis sees a younger version of himself
reflected in the water. Being a slave to vanity, he must now observe his
around the world, including the prestigious Kurzfilmtage been giving me no peace for many years”, and the written between the lines.” own withering away and turns to various clichéd survival strategies:
Oberhausen and the Annecy International Animated outlines of the script reveal themselves while working Vītols is currently working on his first feature-length the breasts and legs of pretty girls, a house with a pool, a fancy car and
Film Festival. Vītols focuses on mythology, archetypes with mise-en-scènes. “It’s hard for me to imagine how animated film with Studija Kokles, his recently founded endless sleepless nights.
and their usage as well as the role of consumers in one might use words to describe a black bubble with family-based studio.
society. Critics describe his work as “light existentialism tentacles so that the result is just as powerful as what Work in progress:
whose pop-like moods are also characteristic of his you see in an animated film on screen. But that’s the Kārlis Vītols
animated and non-animated projects”. eternal problem with animated films – they’re difficult karlis.vision@gmail.com
Northern Star / Ziemeļu zvaigzne
2D animation, feature, Studija Kokles
Vītols has experimented with various animation to describe, and besides, the description usually has to www.karlisvitols.com
www.studijakokles.com The young doctor Nicolaus Himsler embarks on a Grand Tour of Europe
techniques, such as digital cut-out, painting on glass be done already during the project stage, long before in order to defeat the ignorant young man in himself and bring the world
36 and 3D computer animation in combination with anything appears on screen,” says Vītols. back to Riga. 37You can also read
